Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Protecting America. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives


DB sent this one in:

Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives

If a Conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a Liberal doesn't like guns, they believe no one should have one.

If a Conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a Liberal is, they want to ban all meat products for everyone.

If a Conservative sees a foreign threat, he thinks about how to defeat his enemy. A Liberal wonders how to surrender gracefully and still look good.

If a Conservative is homosexual, he quietly enjoys life. If a Liberal is homosexual, they loudly demand legislated respect.

If a Conservative is a minority , he sees himself as independently successful. Their Liberal counterparts see themselves as victims in need of government protection.

If a Conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A Liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a Conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don’t like be shut down.

If a Conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A Liberal wants all churches to be silenced.

If a Conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A Liberal demands that his neighbors pay for his.

If a Conservative disagrees with a Liberal president, he is called a racist. When a Liberal disagrees with a Conservative president, it's patriotic dissent.

If a Conservative expresses his political view, he is called an idiot. A Liberal expressing his political views is expressing his right to Freedom of Speech.

“I never use the words Democrats and Republicans. It’s Liberals and Americans.
- James Watt, Ronald Reagan’s Interior Secretary

 

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Memo to David Frum, re: Sarah Palin


Date: 30 September 2009
To:   David Frum
From: Doug Ross
Re:   The New Majority

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:


Any questions?



Linked by: Texas4Palin and Double Plus Undead. Thanks!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A Conservative Calendar Faces Off Against a Progressive Calendar


Larwyn sends along Don Surber's latest news alert: Carrie Prejean will headline the fifth annual calendar of conservative women to benefit the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute, according to Fox News.




The entire calendar can be found here.

Word has it that Democrats are mobilizing their beauties for a photo shoot, which will feature, among other stunners, Hillary Clinton, Madeline Albright and Helen Thomas.




Update: Don also has the 2010 Sarah Palin Calendar. Countdown to liberal head kerplosions: 3-2-....

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Landslide


Politico held an online poll after the Values Voter Summit, asking Who should have won the presidential straw poll at the event?

Sarah Palin won in a landslide, collecting more votes than all other candidates combined.


Hat tip: Mike Z.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Sheriff defends soldier's funeral procession


STLtoday reports that the Jefferson County Sheriff vociferously defended a soldier's funeral procession from a crank who said she was "inconvenienced" with the traffic delay.

The woman wrote a complaint email to Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer after she was delayed by the funeral procession for Sgt. William Woods, killed-in-action by Taliban Jihadis in Afghanistan.

I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not sure of your first name or correct spelling of your last.

I was inadvertently in this procession as I was leaving work on 270 from Creve Coeur and proceeding on Hwy. 30 West. I have some issues and complaints. I called the Sheriff's office last night, but the officer in charge would not speak with me. His name was Corp. Curtis. I am in no way complaining about your officers. I, however, was not treated very fairly when I called last evening because I wanted a ticket/complaint/or at least a slap on wrist for the people involved. Let me explain:

1) This procession should never have been held during rush hour traffic! Hwy. 270 is dangerous and people drive way too fast and there is too much traffic. This soldier's certainly would not have want his family hurt on the interstate taking him to Cedar Hill. People were dead-stopping on the interstate even though the procession was in the far right lane, the other three lanes just stopped. There were many near accidents and possibly were after I drove through. I was in the 2nd to left lane, no way obstructing the funeral procession.

2) I exited off on Gravois (30 W), far right lane. Your police officers went in the left lane to stop any additional on-coming traffic so the procession could exit off 270 into the LEFT lane of 30. Again, I was in the right lane. The St. Louis County officer stopped and turned around at Weber Hill to return on 270 after the procession passed.

3) The road was not closed. (Only for president as far as I know.) Again, the road was not closed. Your officers only had the left lane blocked/closed for the funeral. All other traffic by MO law can proceed as long as they do not interfere (weave in and out )with funeral procession.

Let me say, that I did not know what was happening. I knew the did not have Kennedy coming to STL, at least not yesterday. I was at work all day. No news. Nothing reported on the traffic on the radio driving home.

Anyway, two of these dirty, nasty, renegade, who knows what motorcycle men that were escorting the procession proceeded to stop in front of me in the right lane on Gravois. I had to stop in the middle of an intersection. They proceeded to scream and yell at me about respecting this soldier, etc. One of them climbed off his motorcycle and came over to me and stuck his head in my car continuing to scream at me. I asked him what this was for and he told me I needed to stop as the officers had the road blocked and show some dang respect.

#1, the road was not blocked, the funeral was in the other lane.

#2, I am proud of our country and sorry for the family, but they had no idea where I was going or anything else. I could have a child at day-care, I could have been sick and racing to the bathroom, I could have a sick parent waiting for me, etc., etc.

#3, They are not law enforcement and had no right to stop in the lane on Gravois and they had no right to scream at me and intimidate and threaten me. If I would have had my pepper spray, I would have used it on this nasty man! He is just a big hoo ha that is not even related to this soldier. The other man did not get off his scooter, but was along side of my passenger window screaming.

I left an abusive husband 1 1/2 years ago and I did not need this intimidation. I was livid and shaking!!

My son is a deputy sheriff in another MO county. I respect police officers. It was not their fault as they were busy with traffic, but I called to make them aware of what was going on during this thing. The St. Louis County officer saw it but of course he was out of jurisdiction.

However, I called last night and your office asked me if I knew about this soldier. Again, I am sorry about him, but I am a taxpayer. I got a speeding ticket a few months ago and paid the fine. I do not deserve to be treated like this. I wanted to let the officer know how these men were acting. Also, they were driving into the turnarounds on Hwy. 30 and then back onto the road. the funeral was much further ahead. One of them nearly got hit by me and other people almost hit him and another as well. I wanted to lodge a complaint about them why they were still there, but no one in your office would take any information or do anything.

This was not a military funeral, even though it was a soldier. There were not military vehicles. It was a funeral and the road was not closed, the lane was closed, I was in the other lane and again, these nasty men had no right to do this and I would have liked them to get a ticket!

I am sorry for the soldier and his family but you cannot let these motorcycle renegades do this. They could have caused several accidents and I really wanted them arrested. If they had any respect for the soldier they would have dressed better and not looked and acted so scuzzy.

Thank you.

Sheriff Boyer's response:

Dear XXXXXXXXX:

Yes, you do deserve a response and I am willing to give you one.

I would like to say that I am sorry for the inconvenience we caused you during the funeral procession of Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods, but I cannot do so. I would ask instead that you take a moment of your time to take into consideration the scope of the event. Your very right to complain was the reason Sgt. Woods fought for his country and ultimately gave his life; thus making the ultimate sacrifice for you and your family.

Let me introduce you to him. After high school, Sergeant Woods entered the Marine Corps. After his contract was up, he joined the Army, where he became a Green Beret. He comes from a long line of military members in his family. His Uncle is a Vietnam Veteran and two of his grandfathers were World War II Veterans. His job in the Army was one of the most dangerous jobs - he was a sniper looking for the bad guys to stop before they killed or injured one of our soldiers. He has numerous decorations to include the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

He grew up in Catawissa and was best known by his middle name, Brian. He enjoyed the outdoors, playing sports, and skydiving. He had a wife, Elizabeth, and two daughters, whom he loved dearly. He was a soft-spoken, level-headed young man who was proud to serve his country no matter what the risk. Now, I did not know him, but I wish I did. I am quoting from newspaper articles written about him.

At the young age of 31, he was shot during an engagement with Taliban forces in Ghanzi, Afghanistan . He died of his wounds in Germany on August 16, with his family by his side. He did not choose the time of his death, nor did he choose the time his remains would be brought back to his home in Catawissa. He just did his duty. He was quite a young man.

While you were being inconvenienced in your car on your way home, there were soldiers just like Sergeant Woods carrying 100+ pounds of equipment in 120 degree heat, up some mountain or in the middle of some desert. They will shower out of a helmet liner if they get the chance. They will eat a cold meal of MRE's; something most people would consider garbage. They cannot text their family or friends, or go to McDonalds, or watch TV. They can only continue the mission and look out after the guy to the left and right of them. They don't complain because they know they volunteered. The only thing they ask is that we do not forget the sacrifices they have made.

One of the dirty "big hoo ha" bikers, as you call them, was Brian's uncle, a Vietnam Veteran, like myself. We were not treated with a homecoming. We were spit on and called baby killers by a misguided public. Brian's uncle was giving him the respect that he, himself, never received when he came back and I, for one, am proud of him for doing so.

You say that your brother is a deputy in another Missouri county. I am sure he would be proud to escort the casket of a fallen solder, the same as he would that of a fallen officer. I am also sure he would not agree with your complaint about being inconvenienced.

My mother recently passed away. She was a World War II Veteran, serving the U.S. Army. She would say, maybe you should pick up Sergeant Woods' ruck sack and carry on where he left off. Then you could see first hand what it really is to be inconvenienced.

Per your request, I will forward your complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office for his review. It is my personal opinion that your complaint is self-serving and without merit.

Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer



Sunday, September 13, 2009

In whom do you place your trust?


As it pertains to the role of government, individual liberty, the free market, Democracy and natural law, in whom do you place your trust?

Benjamin Franklin
"Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes."
Barney Frank
"These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."

 

Alexander Hamilton
"It's not tyranny we desire; it's a just, limited, federal government."
"The sacred rights of mankind... are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased."
Christopher Dodd
"I don't care what the public wants, I'm going to give it what it needs!"

 

Thomas Jefferson
"A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference. ...A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government. "
Nancy Pelosi
"Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs."
"The impact of climate change is a tremendous risk to the security and well-being of our countries."

 

John Adams
"Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty. Liberty, according to my metaphysics is a self-determining power in an intellectual agent. It implies thought and choice and power."
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
Harry Reid
"It's time that America's government lived by the same values as America's families. It's time we invested in America's future and made sure our people have the skills to compete and thrive in a 21st century economy. That's what Democrats believe."

 

James Madison
"Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government." "Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
Barack Obama
"I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody."
"In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world."
"We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. "

 

Principles grounded in thousands of years of human experience versus soaring, yet utterly empty, rhetoric.

Timeless genius versus power-hungry political hacks.

Our choice is clear. We choose liberty.


Linked by: Curmudgeonly & Skeptical. Thanks!

Four Marines Dead: Who Changed the Rules of Engagement?


McClatchy's Jonathan S. Landay posts a first-person account of a deadly ambush in Afghanistan.

We walked into a trap, a killing zone of relentless gunfire and rocket barrages from Afghan insurgents hidden in the mountainsides and in a fortress-like village where women and children were replenishing their ammunition.

"We will do to you what we did to the Russians," the insurgent's leader boasted over the radio, referring to the failure of Soviet troops to capture Ganjgal during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation...

It is a must-read, but I call particular attention to what happened during the ambush of Afghani soldiers and their Marine trainers outside of Ganjgal.

U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren't near the village.

"We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We've lost today," Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter's repeated demands for helicopters.

Four U.S. Marines were killed Tuesday, the most U.S. service members assigned as trainers to the Afghan National Army to be lost in a single incident since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion... Three Americans and 19 Afghans were wounded...

New rules? New rules are killing our boys?

Where is the outrage? What is this administration up to? Who called for these 'new rules' of engagement?

I just wish our pathetic mainstream media would stop operating as a government apparatchik and ask real questions of this administration.

How many more military personnel will die before someone asks this question of President Obama?


Linked by: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion. Thanks!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Two million... or 306?


Jim Hoft says that ABC and CNN have reported that more than two million protesters attended the protest in Washington today.

Other estimates:

Up to 2 million: London's Daily Mail
1.5 million: Tea Party Patriots organizer Debbie Dooley
Tens of thousands: Associated De-Press-ed
Tens of thousands: Washington Com-Post
Thousands: New York Tass
306: Keith 'Strap-On' Olbermann

This follows yesterday's protest, ignored by the mainstream media, that saw hundreds of physicians gather to protest ObamaCare.




Hat tips: Instapundit and Gateway Pundit.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Guaranteed to give pirates stomach cramps


Via Matthew T. Litchfield, Sr., pictures of U.S.S. Independence (LCS-2), "a triple-hulled, weapons-laden monster":

We've been hearing rumblings about the U.S. Navy's triple-hulled ships, but here's one that was launched last month, the U.S.S Independence... Built by General Dynamics, it's called a "Littoral Combat Ship" (LCS), and the trimaran can move huge weapons around faster than any ship in the Navy. Ironic that with all that high tech built in, the ship reminds us most of the Merrimac ironclad from the Civil War era...

Littoral means "close to shore", and that's where these fleet-hulled babies will operate, tailor-made for launching helicopters and armored vehicles, sweeping mines and firing all manner of torpedoes, missiles and machine guns.

These ships were designed to be relatively inexpensive. This one's a bargain at $208 million and the Navy plans to build 55 of them.

This trimaran is the first of the new fire-breathing breed, ready to scoot out of dry dock at a rumored 60 knots. It's like a speedy and heavily-armed aircraft carrier for helicopters.

Please, please, please -- don't tell me that you checked Snopes and... President Obama canceled the entire lot.

Ronald Reagan's 2012 Address To America


For 9/12: a must-watch.

Part I

Part II

Reagan responds to Obama and his supporters

Monday, September 07, 2009

Mark Levin: Free Podcast o' the Day


Podcasts

If you haven't listened to Mark Levin's broadcasts, I'd encourage you to give these two shows a listen.

Levin is a Constitutional authority, the head of Landmark Legal Foundation, a best-selling author and the creator of the fastest-growing talk show in the land.

08/26/2009: Mark Levin reads Chapter One of Liberty and Tyranny (MP3)

08/27/2009: Mark Levin reads the Conservative Manifesto (MP3)


Sunday, September 06, 2009

Yobie Benjamin: Idiot With a Word Processor


When the Smithsonian opens its "Last Vestiges of the Newspaper Business" exhibit, Yobie Benjamin's masterpiece of propaganda will hold a hallowed position.

47% of America voted for John McCain so it is fair to say that Fox cable news and the right wing's agent provocateur Glenn Beck has a lot of fans... [he] claims Obama's "civilian national security force" is "what Hitler did with the SS," "what Saddam Hussein" did. Beck also says Obama wants us all to work for ACORN or Americorps...

From what I read from Media Matters and thorough scan of all of the President's speeches, he was talking about expanding AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps and the foreign service not some uniformed version of East Germany's Stasi.

Benjamin's use of Media Matters as a source is somewhat akin to relying upon a Magic Eight Ball for major life decisions.

Of course, Benjamin neglects to actually describe Obama's speeches referencing a "civilian national security force". The reasons he omits the transcripts are obvious:

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." -- Barack Obama, July 2008

President Obama asserts that the U.S. military cannot achieve national security objectives and that the country therefore requires a civilian national security force. His words, not mine.

Yobie Benjamin's Goebbels-like attempts to obfuscate Obama's statements are more than mere spin: they are patent lies. Although, to be fair, this sort of public fabrication isn't entirely unexpected from the dying newspaper business, which is defending its last spit of turf like Custer at Little Big Horn.



Linked by: American Digest. Thanks!

O. G.




Idea: Tom K.

What the founders never envisioned


Compare and contrast:

The wages and benefits of private workers pale in comparison to those of government workers. And the vast majority of government workers belong to public sector unions like the SEIU, which impede the operation of traditional human resources practices: probationary periods, merit-based advancements, terminations for cause, etc. Many are unaccountable bureaucrats operating their own personal fiefdoms.

Unemployment is still on the rise, currently estimated at 9.7%. And, in good times and bad, the federal government keeps growing. On borrowed money, with taxpayers footing the bill for principal and interest.

There are six jobs for every unemployed person in the Baltimore-DC area, while the real economy is flat on its back.

The federal bureaucracy is an out-of-control juggernaut, grown far beyond the scale of anything envisioned by the founders. It's time to slash the size of government, to slash government compensation, to right-size government spending, to slash taxes and to free up enterprise to do what it does best.

But don't expect anything of the sort from President Ideologue and his merry band of National Socialist Democrats. They don't believe in free enterprise, you see. They believe only in the power of government.


Update: "The Scariest Jobs Chart Ever".

Graphs: FOFOA.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

I've got mail!


Received the following message from Garry this afternoon (all spelling and grammatical errors are reproduced for your enjoyment):

as an Englishman who admires much of things America ..including my wife and children.. I find drivel such as yours depressing... its utter nonsense, and its curious that foreigners see the US far moree clearly today than Americans... remember the Daily Express headline re Bush " how could 60 [million] Americans be so stupid".. I thought at the time it was a rather ott comment though I sympathised ..but how right it was..

I speak as one who has lived in countries through bad times.. South Africa/ UK/Canada..and which have come out the other side courtesy of hardreflection and the need for change..

the Right here does America a huge disservice.. and I say that knowing 98% of them probably havent left the country.

Grary [sic]

After thirty seconds of reflection, I politely replied with the following message.

Dear Garry,

I am a conservative, which is to say I believe in the founding principles of the United States of America. That is: limited government, a respect for individual liberty, free enterprise and private property.

Those who oppose me reject America's founding principles: the very tenets that led to the creation of the greatest country the world has ever seen.

In little more than two hundred years, Americans defeated slavery, Nazism, military Shintoism and Communism; refined mass production; invented human flight; created 75% of all medical innovations on the planet; put a man on the moon; invented the telephone, the Internet and the search engine; and advanced humankind in millions of other ways, in every field and endeavor.

Those who oppose me oppose my Constitution and my Declaration of Independence.

Those who oppose me refute the notion of God-given rights of man and carefully constructed limits on an all-powerful, centralized, authoritarian government.

Those who oppose me see the world as rigid classes of people that must be manipulated to advance a political agenda; whereas conservatives revel in the notion that America has no static class structure; that every day the rich become poor and the poor rich.

Those who oppose me oppose free markets and the power of any individual -- no matter the race, creed, religion or color -- to achieve greatness through hard work, study, inspiration and innovation.

Now go wait in line for a dentist, you whining twit. And never sully my blog with your presence again.

Too harsh?



Little-remembered homily from Ronald Reagan's state funeral


I don't know what conservatives are complaining about when they observe that the Kennedy grandkids were trotted out at his public funeral ceremony to pimp socialized medicine. It's not the first time such an event has been politicized. Why, don't you remember this brief prayer from President Reagan's funeral service?



Let us pray.

Dear Lord, we beseech you to instill in all persons of this great land...

...an abiding desire to respect the rights of the individual as envisioned by this nation's founders.

To enact a flat tax, which protects the individual's private property from unjust confiscation by an out-of-control federal government.

To promote the continued development of a missile shield, which will make our nation immeasurably safer.

And to slash the size and budgets of federal bureaucracies by 20% or more, as they exceed any powers granted by the Constitution.

And it is only fitting that these policies are enacted immediately in honor of President Reagan's passing.

Let us say... Amen.


Idea: Gateway Pundit, AllahPundit and The Bad.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Conor Friedersdorf can't see the Statists for the Forest


Writing at The Atlantic, journalist Conor Friedersdorf reviews Mark Levin's bestselling Liberty & Tyranny. I'll give him credit; at least Friedersdorf has dared to tread where virtually every mainstream media outlet has not: in a direct exchange of fire with a towering intellect.

Friedersdorf (or 'Dorf' as I like to call him, mainly because I get tired of typing his full name) argues that Levin's argument is flawed at its core. Dorf says that the "Statist" is a straw-man -- a mirage created out of whole cloth by Levin for the purpose of advancing his argument. By the way, I just saved you from having to read the entire review.

Dorf's assertion is that, "Hey, the Democrats can't be Statists, because most of the people who vote for them are independents or just left of center!"

Now, consider, Dorf: had Obama actually described his agenda -- that he would escalate partisanship to an exquisite form of art; that he would nationalize the auto companies; that he would employ dozens of lobbyists in his administration; that he would destroy the full faith and credit of the U.S. currency; that he would quadruple the national debt in six months' time; that he would send billions to criminal front groups like ACORN; that he would send his SecTreas, hat in hand, to beg the Chinese to continue purchasing our debt...

Well, Dorf, had Obama told the truth, we'd be hearing weekly radio addresses from President John McCain and watching his Secretary of State, Lindsay 'Goober' Graham, deplane in Geneva.

Amazing: Dorf can't see the Statists while Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Waters, Feinstein, Rangel and the like -- the most corrupt federal government since the Clinton era -- nationalize industry after industry.

Dorf can't find any Statists while the Democrat leadership positions themselves to take over the coal, gas and oil companies with Cap-and-Trade.

Dorf can't find any Statists while the Democrat leadership proposes to ram socialized medicine down the unwilling throats of the American people even though it has been exposed as a transparent payoff to the trial lawyers and the public sector unions.

Why did so many everyday Americans support Obama? Because the Democrat lies, incessantly and masterfully, throughout each of his campaigns.

But that's too difficult a concept for Dorf to understand. So there is no joy at The Atlantic, because pathetic Friedersdorf has struck out.


Update: Reader CJ emails, "I posted the following comment at Balloon Juice, the whack-a-doodle National Socialist Democrat site who couldn't squeeze out even a thimble's worth of intellectual honesty in reviewing (no, not Levin's book), the Friedersdorf review of the book. Now there's one thing I most respect about your site... everyone is allowed to comment! So check out my Balloon Juice comment that was so offensive, so radical, so outrageous, that the authors refused to even allow to appear."

Interesting thread.

Mark Levin's book, should any of you actually bother to read it, describes the philosophers who influenced the founders of this country. Why?

Because starting with Cicero, Montescue (sp?), Burke, Locke, Smith and others, the framers (Madison, Jay and many others) carefully constructed a constitution that would balance the powers not only between the three branches but also between the states and the federal government.

It is easy to forget that the states created the federal government... not the other way around. And the founders had just revolted against (and defeated) an unchecked, authoritarian, unaccountable centralized government.

The framers' central task was simple: protect the God-given rights of the individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness... from a government similar to the one they had warred against.

Consider what James Madison might say today, having observed the liberals' casual attempts to control virtually every aspect of our lives at the federal level: your health care; your toilet's water tank; your car; your home heating bill; your light bulbs; ...

The framers and today's conservatives are ideologically aligned.

The framers and today's liberals are ideologically opposed.

And it takes a great deal of hubris to discard Levin's argument without a whit of analysis. But that's what passes for intellectual honesty around these parts, I suppose.

Ballon Juice, eh? That's the same crew that couldn't add straight.

Update: Stacy McCain says Friedersdork's attack on Levin isn't worth the seventeen minutes of my time: "It's as if a gnat [Friedersdork] were attempting to rape an elephant. Why bother defending the elephant against an assailant whose ill-considered attack the intended victim probably won't even notice?" Uhm, because it's there? Further update: Dan Riehl and Jimmie open a can of you-know-what on poor Conor, who won't be revisiting these parts anytime soon.