The Politics of a Carnivorous Vegan
I occasionally run across someone who informs me solemnly that they are Fiscally Conservative, but Socially Liberal.

I must confess I find that statement a little confusing and my internal mental reaction is.

"Isn't that like saying you are a Carnivorous Vegan?"

What does it mean to be Fiscally Conservative, yet Socially Liberal?

They favor massive Federal Social Programs, but don't want them funded?

Or maybe it means that They want Federal Social Programs that they approve of funded and reduced spending on everything else?

I have noticed that those who make those claims do seem to feel we spend too much on Defense.

I had one with great dungeon proclaim that the spending in Iraq was going to RUIN the Economy of the US!

Doesn't matter that Social Spending is about 3X Defense spending, it was the 20% of the Federal Budget that is spent on Defense that would RUIN the Economy of the US!

I suppose part of my confusion stems from the fact that the definition of a Social Liberal is confused.

Definitions of Social liberal on the Web:

this term has two conflicting meanings. The more widely-used definition refers to a person who is liberal on social issues such as civil rights, civil liberties, and immigration. Another definition, which is more academic, refers to a liberal who is an economic leftist, and divides liberals into social liberals (who are simply called "liberals" in the first definition) and libertarians.
www.ospolitics.org/knowledge/archives/2004/04/10/political_.php

Social liberalism is either a synonym for new liberalism or a label used by progressive liberal parties in order to differentiate themselves from market liberal parties, especially when there are two or more liberal parties in a country.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Liberal

. Fiscal conservatism.

A belief in personal responsibility for finances. Scaling back taxation to allow greater control over individual incomes. Conservative thinking promotes cutbacks in public spending enabling tax breaks to be given to those that are earning, and believes in helping those out of work back into self sufficiency.

I can see how the first definition of Social Liberal could exist simultaneously with Fiscal Conservatism. But somehow I am not certain that all those who claim that stance are really all that much in favor of

A belief in personal responsibility for finances. Scaling back taxation to allow greater control over individual incomes. Conservative thinking promotes cutbacks in public spending enabling tax breaks to be given to those that are earning, and believes in helping those out of work back into self sufficiency.

Be nice if I were wrong.

|

The Open Trackback Alliance XXXVI
For your listening pleasure while you browse

"Der er et yndigt land" (There Is A Lovely Land)

Words by: Adam Gottlob Oehlenschlager
Music by: Hans Ernst Kr?yer
Adopted: 1844

"Derer et yndigt land" was first performed for a large gathering of Danes in 1844, and became popular quickly with the Danish people. It was adopted later that year by the Danish government as a national anthem, but not the sole national anthem. This anthem is on equal status with "Kong Christian",which is both the national and royal anthem.

When the Danish anthem is usually performed or sung, the first verse is played in its entirety, then it is followed by the last four lines of the last verse. (This is true whether the lyrics are sung or not



Recentlty I have been posting music to Illustrate the Diversity of America, this week I have a different motive to express Solidarity with DENMARK

I maintain my Support of Denmark, and will later today, post links to and my thoughts about a Danish Editorial "We are being pissed upon by Per Nyholm "

I think I shall title my Post, "There is no "But" in "Freedom of Speech".




When I first started upon my journey through the blogverse I created a Statement of Purpose
Now upon reading it, one can realize that I did not hold to every detail of that original statement, but from it's basic premise, I have never swayed, in my belief that the Blogs are in fact the Committees of Correspondence of the Second American Revolution.

And that it is a Revolution of Information, no longer can we afford and allow elite gateways to control what we can see, hear and discuss.

For I believe that those bloggers who find their way, here and in particular from the Blogs associated with Sam.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.

Some of us are more Serious, some of us are more lighthearted and some post the common ordinary things that make one smile and recall that Life without the simple things to treasure is meaningless.

And it is important that all have a platform from which to speak.

As I understand this process you can link to this post and trackback to this post on ANY subject or post you think important. It is open. I will repeat this every Monday.

The Committees of Correspondence welcomes your intelligent comments. And also welcomes you to join the

OPEN TRACKBACK ALLIANCE

This week I also have shortened my usual introduction for a more inportant message.

In it's struggle for Freedom of Speech.

Sign the Petition NOW!

JEG opstille hos Danmark!

44700 Total Signatures 8:52 AM CST August 8, 2006 We can do better pass the word~!

From Agora a call to Support the Manifesto online by signing another Petition, why not sign both?


MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism
Created by Mark Jefferson on March 1st, 2006 at 5:42 pm AST

After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.
We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all. "

Blogs that Trackback to this Post:

On Monday
It's not Photoshopping - it's al-Taqiyya from planck's constant

Y'al come back now, Y'heah? ;-)
Technorati Tag:Denmark

|

Age of Tolerance A Novel of Alternate History From Al To Allah

America’s new Age of Tolerance begins on September 11th, 2001 when President Al Gore courageously leads the nation in the aftermath of the devastating attacks and into a future that we avoided…


…or have we?

In fact, far more than alternate history, this is a story of a nation tamed by political correctness, where sensitivity overshadows common sense, where values are mocked and hard work is taxed in order to provide for those who choose not to produce. In short, a nation not much different than our own, with a future that will certainly be ours if present trends continue.



What if Al Gore had been the 9/11 President? What would he have done differently? How would it affect the future?

What would America look like if the Left gets everything it wants? Can liberals really live in a world of their own design?

Age of Tolerance is an original and realistic post 9-11 novel that explores the consequences of open borders, radical populism, isolationism, and even reparations with subtle humor and suspense. It is as much an entertaining narrative of cost and triumph as it is a cautionary tale for a generation that has more to lose than it may realize.

Based on actual events and quotes, a thought-provoking picture develops of what America might look like if some have their way. In Age of Tolerance, the reader will find characters that can't be found in any other novel: radical environmental activists, the anti-war crowd, affirmative action junkies, race merchants, classroom indoctrinators and demagogic populist politicians.

Is true multiculturalism possible, or does the “give and take” of political correctness only work in one direction? Could a superpower be defeated by its own tolerance, or would a great nation eventually recognize and return to the patriotic and cultural traditions that made it so, before it is too late?





BUY THE BOOK

I just did,
don't WAIT for the Movie!

Technorati Tags:Al Gore***9/11***Islam***Jihad

Linked to
Open Trackbacks Here from The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns
Majoring on the Minors/Open Trackbacks from third world county
Weekend Open Trackbacks: Ceeeeeeo? Ceeeeeeo? Edition from Point Five
Pride: Open Trackbacks from 7 Deadly Sins
Weekend Open Trackback - Aug 4-6, 2006 from Church and State
How to Get Seen: the Highlights from Case Notes from the Artsy Asylum
Optimism OpenTrackbacks all Weekend from Woman Honor Thyself
Weekend (Open) Must-Read List from The Right Nation

|

Stratfor Daily Podcasts A Must Listen
Listen to Recent Podcasts Now - FREE Download!

Bookmark this page on Stratfor and share it with your colleagues and friends.

Stratfor Daily Podcasts

Get an automatic feed of all of Stratfor?s podcasts. Insert

http://www.stratfor.com/reports/podcast.xml

into your RSS software to receive the feed.

Thank You for Your Interest in Stratfor Podcasts!

To download any of the daily podcasts (MP3 audio files), click on the corresponding link below:

Aug 02, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Israel Bekaa - Baker




Aug 01, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Israel Decision - Baker



Jul 31, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Ceasefire Options - Baker




Jul 28, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Israel Iraq - Baker



Jul 27, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Division AlQaeda - Baker



Jul 26, 2006 Stratfor Daily Podcast - Israel Debate - Baker



GV Teleconference: Iran Outlook



Note: This is only a small sample
of the podcasts available for download

Stratfor Daily Podcasts

Get an automatic feed of all of Stratfor?s podcasts. Insert
http://www.stratfor.com/reports/podcast.xml
into your RSS software to receive the feed.

If you encounter any difficulties in downloading the MP3 audio files, please contact Customer Service via e-mail at service@stratfor.com or by telephone at 1-877-9STRAT4.

|

Hezbollah and Iran: Security Risks Beyond the Middle East - Complimentary Download!
Stratfor analysts continue to be on full alert, closely monitoring the conflict in the Middle East, and providing expanded 24/7 coverage on the current crisis and latest ground offensive.

Intelligence received by Stratfor in the past 24 hours indicates that Israel believes military operations against Hezbollah will soon be reaching a climax in Lebanon, and activity by both sides in the conflict since then has been intensifying. It has been our assessment that as Hezbollah fighters come under greater duress, there is a strong possibility that the organization will revert to employing terrorist tactics against Westerners that it used in the past - such as kidnappings, bombings or other acts of violence.

We have also taken note of a warden message issued yesterday, August 1st, that imposes a curfew on U.S. Embassy staff in Damascus - a precaution for their safety as emotions run high in Syria. We view this as further affirmation that, with military operations entering a crucial phase, the danger of terrorist activity is now ticking upward. We have no direct intelligence on this but we are clearly entering a period of heightened threat.

For the safety of our readers, we invite you to read a recent special report produced by our security team. This report outlines where Stratfor believes terrorist attacks might be possible, the kinds of targets Hezbollah might choose, its rationale for doing so and the rapidity with which the organization might move.

Hezbollah and Iran: Security Risks Beyond the Middle East
is available to you for download in PDF format, with our compliments, at

http://www.stratfor.com/reports/hezbollah-and-iran.php
You are welcome to share this information and the tips included in the report with family and friends.

If you have any questions regarding your service or would like to send us any comments, please contact us via e-mail at service@stratfor.com or call 1.877.9STRAT4, Monday-Friday 9 AM to 5PM CDT.



Best Regards,

Your Customer Service Team at
Strategic Forecasting, Inc.



*To download a free copy of the Adobe Reader, please visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html


Technorati Tags:Israel***Lebanon***Iran***Hezbollah

|

If Today's Media Reported the Battle of Midway

From Strategypage.
If Today's Media Reported the Battle of Midway

Midway Island Demolished. Yorktown, destroyer sunk.
Many US planes lost
June 7, 1942

The United States Navy suffered another blow in its attempt to stem the Japanese juggernaut ravaging the Pacific Ocean. Midway Island, perhaps the most vital U.S. outpost, was pummeled by Japanese Naval aviators. The defending U.S. forces, consisting primarily of antique Buffalo fighters, were competely wiped out while the Japanese attackers suffered few, if any, losses.
In a nearby naval confrontation, the Japanese successfully attacked the Yorktown which was later sunk by a Japanese submarine. A destroyer lashed to the Yorktown was also sunk.

American forces claim to have sunk four Japanese carriers and the cruiser Mogami but those claims were vehemently denied by the Emporer's spokeman.

The American carriers lost an entire squadron of torpedo planes when they failed to link up with fighter escorts. The dive bombers had fighter escort even though they weren't engaged by enemy fighters. The War Dept. refused to answer when asked why the fighters were assigned to the wrong attack groups. The Hornet lost a large number of planes when they couldn't locate the enemy task force. Despite this cavalcade of errors, Admirals Fletcher and Spruance have not been removed.

Code Broken
The failure at Midway is even more disheartening because the U.S. Navy knew the Japanese were coming. Secret documents provided to the NY Times showed that "Magic" intercepts showed the Japanese planned to attack Midway, which they called "AF".

Obsolete Equipment
Some critics blamed the failure at Midway on the use of obsolete aircraft. The inappropriately named Devastator torpedo planes proved no match for the Japanese fighters. Even the Avengers, its schedule replacements, were riddled with bullets and rendered unflyable. Secretary of War Stimson dodged the question saying simply: "You go to war with the Navy you have, not the Navy you want or would like to have". Critics immediately called for his resignation.

Anyone reading the above who was not familiar with the History of the War in the Pacific, might come to the mistaken conclusion that we lost the Battle of Midway.

Far from it, we won and it was the turning point of the War.

Anyone reading the Media Reports today, of our activities in Afghanistan and Iraq, might come to a similiar conclusion.

Think about it.

|

Meet The Rightroots Candidates
This is direct clone from Captain's Quarter's

If you care about the Future of this Nation, for yourself and your posterity, participate, and spread the word!

For anyone offended by my statement, tough.

A group of conservative bloggers have worked on a developing a list of candidates in critical races this fall, not just for a show of support but also to allow our readers a single point where they could contribute to their campaigns. John Hawkins at Right Wing News began to organize this a couple of weeks ago, and we have selected a slate of Congressional and Senatorial races we think will get the most benefit from organized grassroots support on the Internet.

We call this effort Rightroots, and our site, powered by ABCPac, launched this evening

The selection committee comprised the following bloggers:

John Hawkins from Right Wing News
Robert Bluey from Human Events Online
Mary Katherine Ham from Townhall
Erick Erickson from Redstate
Patrick Hynes from Ankle Biting Pundits
Lorie Byrd from Wizbang!

We have selected fourteen Congressional races and four Senate races we see as critical and close enough to warrant organized support from our readers. On our donations page, we give a description of the races and the politics involved. We deliberately avoided races where Republicans either have a large edge or face weak opposition. Each of these races may well come down to the last $100 for campaigning efforts, and winning all eighteen would provide a tremendous boost for conservatives across the nation.

All of these candidates have our unanimous endorsement for their races. We hope that you will join us in supporting these fine candidates, and follow along as we raise money for them. Bookmark the Rightroots page to see how well our candidate fare in the weeks ahead, and help us spread the word through the blogosphere.

We talk about the need to build conservative power in government -- and now we have the tool to do it.

Posted by Captain Ed at July 31, 2006 10:26 PM

****************************************************
You know I usually spend 3 or 4 dollars a night at work on pop, it would not take too many weeks drinking water if I needed to come up with a donation.

|

What I Learned
On My Holiday

They say travel abroad can be an educational experience.

As a matter of fact I did learn a few things on my recent trip to Italy.

When shopping with a woman bring a book to read.

If you are in Milan and the Establishment has a VERY large comfortable sectional couch,to sit on,

If you look over and see a a wetbar with goblets, ice bucket and almost a dozen types of liquors,

If instead of fashion magazines they have LARGE maybe 11X17 HARDBOUND books and if you look up from one of the Full page photos and see that model walking across the sales floor.



You are NOT in a simple Dress Shop.

That is how I learned a new phrase in Italian

Dolce Gabbana



The Sales force was VERY friendly, they smiled ALL the time.

I remember a woman I met some years ago whose Father was a

Sicilian Don,

Katie told me her Father taught her that there were only two types of people who smiled ALL the time.


The Simpleminded and those who were Truly Evil.

After looking at the remains of one of my Platinum Cards

I ruled out Simple Minded.

Another little tidbit I learned was that the Proverb,

"When in Rome do as the Romans do"

Does not apply to me eating spaghetti.

My girlfriend is a Russian National and it did not matter that I could point out an urbane cultured looking Italian business man a couple of tables over eating his spaghetti in the same manner. I thought she was going to have a stroke.

It is not correct Dan

Sigh I have been eating spaghetti for what? Almost 50 years? Maybe there is a graceful way to do it, but I never learned it, and after 50 years I probably never will.

I decided in the interest of finishing my meal in peace to stick to lasagna, ravioli, and short pastas after that.

Now the last and I must stress this, most important lesson I learned in Rome.

It is: When eating in an outdoor cafe, make certain you are completely under the awning or umbrella!

For those who do not already realize why I stress this, a picture as they say can portray a thousand words.

And no they are NOT cute! They are EVIL!

And in my opinion their vicious accuracy precludes simplemindedness!
Technorati Tags:Dolce Gabbana***Italy***Pigeons***Spaghetti

|

The Open Trackback Alliance XXXV
For your listening pleasure while you browse

"Der er et yndigt land" (There Is A Lovely Land)

Words by: Adam Gottlob Oehlenschlager
Music by: Hans Ernst Kr?yer
Adopted: 1844

"Derer et yndigt land" was first performed for a large gathering of Danes in 1844, and became popular quickly with the Danish people. It was adopted later that year by the Danish government as a national anthem, but not the sole national anthem. This anthem is on equal status with "Kong Christian",which is both the national and royal anthem.

When the Danish anthem is usually performed or sung, the first verse is played in its entirety, then it is followed by the last four lines of the last verse. (This is true whether the lyrics are sung or not



Recentlty I have been posting music to Illustrate the Diversity of America, this week I have a different motive to express Solidarity with DENMARK

I maintain my Support of Denmark, and will later today, post links to and my thoughts about a Danish Editorial "We are being pissed upon by Per Nyholm "

I think I shall title my Post, "There is no "But" in "Freedom of Speech".




When I first started upon my journey through the blogverse I created a Statement of Purpose
Now upon reading it, one can realize that I did not hold to every detail of that original statement, but from it's basic premise, I have never swayed, in my belief that the Blogs are in fact the Committees of Correspondence of the Second American Revolution.

And that it is a Revolution of Information, no longer can we afford and allow elite gateways to control what we can see, hear and discuss.

For I believe that those bloggers who find their way, here and in particular from the Blogs associated with Sam.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY.

Some of us are more Serious, some of us are more lighthearted and some post the common ordinary things that make one smile and recall that Life without the simple things to treasure is meaningless.

And it is important that all have a platform from which to speak.

As I understand this process you can link to this post and trackback to this post on ANY subject or post you think important. It is open. I will repeat this every Monday.

The Committees of Correspondence welcomes your intelligent comments. And also welcomes you to join the

OPEN TRACKBACK ALLIANCE

This week I also have shortened my usual introduction for a more inportant message.

In it's struggle for Freedom of Speech.

Sign the Petition NOW!

JEG opstille hos Danmark!

44545 Total Signatures 1:12 AM CST 22 June 26, 2006 We can do better pass the word~!

From Agora a call to Support the Manifesto online by signing another Petition, why not sign both?


MANIFESTO: Together facing the new totalitarianism
Created by Mark Jefferson on March 1st, 2006 at 5:42 pm AST

After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new totalitarian global threat: Islamism.
We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all. "

Blogs that Trackback to this Post:

On Monday
Hezbollah held children until they could be blown from planck's constant

Y'al come back now, Y'heah? ;-)
Technorati Tag:Denmark

|

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

Won't be back til July 28.

Though I guess it is a nice time to take a trip to Italy. They should be in a good mood. ;-)

In the meantime for those who come by here, you can peruse my archives.

I would also recommend browsing.

The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII).

Life Liberty and Property

Captain's Quarter's

101st Fight Keyboards
We eat Chickens for Lunch

ALL of my blogrolls IMO have much to offer, but there are a few who warrant special mention.

InMuscatine
The First Blog to ever link to me.

The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns
Who got met started up the Blog-ecosystem.

And last but never least my most loyal commenter

The_City_Troll

I Know there are a Lot of Good Blogs here I need to mention, but if I take the time to comment on All of them I might miss my plane.

Cya

|